Arkansas' Helen Gurley Brown empowered women through words

• It was a hit, selling 2 million copies in three weeks.
• Her follow-up book "Sex and the Office" was published in 1964.

Described as having a "bright, no-nonsense" voice, Brown went on to become editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine in 1965, turning it around, and taking her sense of self and independence to readers monthly until 1997.

She passed away in New York City in 2012.

Poignant quote: "Beauty can't amuse you, but brainwork — reading, writing, thinking — can."

The intrigue: Born in one of the most conservative states, Brown was an early voice in the sexual revolution.

March is Women's History Month, so we'll be highlighting some of Arkansas' best-known daughters.